Appeal No. 2001-0099
Application No. 09/042,431
Accordingly, we consider anew the issue of obviousness under
35 U.S.C. § 103, carefully evaluating and weighing both the
evidence relied upon by the examiner and the evidence provided
by the appellants. See In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468, 1472,
223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984) and Stratoflex Inc. v.
Aeroquip Corp., 713 F.2d 1530, 1538, 218 USPQ 871, 879 (Fed.
Cir. 1983).
Appellants submitted the Brekke declaration as evidence
of the commercial success of the appellants' claimed
invention. The declaration states that, at the time of the
declaration, Snap-on Tools Company (Snap-On) was selling
flexible hand ratchet wrenches "substantially identical to
those shown in Figures 1-7 of the present application ...,
except that the central planes of engagement slot 140 and
retainment slot 145 form an angle of about 90 ." As of Augusto
18, 1999, at least 37,176 Snap-on ratchet wrenches had been
sold. Several dealers told declarant that they like the
proximity of the lock button to the handle and the mechanism
which allows the user to retain the locking teeth away from
the ratchet head to allow adjustment of the angle of the head
relative to the handle without removing the user's hand from
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